Start of Route 66

No more delaying the inevitable. It's time to brave the cold and get back on the road. Since the whole reason for this trip was to drive Route 66 you could say that our journey now begins here in Chicago on the banks of the Lake Michigan. Like I mentioned in my last post, our goal is to make it to Oklahoma City sometime tonight and turn in when we get there. I am really hoping it warms up quickly because I am realizing how much I despise the cold weather and the heater in the car is a little weak.

The car still seems to be holding up but I am still nervous about its durability. I guess its safe to say I don't trust my mechanics skills. We have performed a bandaid fix on the windows that should stop the wind from blowing into the car for now. There are no weatherstrips on the side windows so there is a good half inch of space when the windows are all the way rolled up. Solution, stuff some clothes in there and roll the windows up tight. We'll see how it holds up.

Short post today since we didn't do any traveling but hopefully I will have some stories and pictures to share with you from OKC. Until later tonight.

Enjoying the Windy City

   First leg complete! It was a long day but I finally made to Chicago last night and met up with Daniel for some well deserved pizza and beer at Giordanos. The trip took longer then planned because I had to stop a couple times to take naps but after 15 hours of traveling I arrived in the windy city. I was pretty exhausted and sick of driving when arrived so instead of taking off last night like I had planned we decided to stay in the area for the night.

   Got a good nights rest and had a great breakfast, egos and coffee. After talking, Daniel and I decided to take the day to relax and prepare for our route 66 excursion. We are now planning on leaving first thing tomorrow morning with the goal of making it to the Oklahoma City area where we will stay the night. Daniel's excuse is that he has some work to do while I am just not ready to jump back in the car for another 12 hour trip. So today we prepare and tomorrow we depart.

   The car is holding up nicely. It started to act up a little bit when I got into Chicago which got me pretty stressed out. It liked to die at the stop lights so I had to shift into neutral every time I stopped to keep the RPMs up. I think it was as sick of driving as I was and needed a break because after Dan and I got some pizza and beer it was running nicely again. I think the lot of us are ready for a warmer climate. I am trying not to stress out too much about the car but after a car has given you as much trouble as this one every little noise you hear puts you on edge.

MONEY RAISED:

    $216

Thanks to an anonymous donation we are now up to $216. Thank you all for the donations thus far.

   Please feel free to leave comments on here and if you have any questions or concerns you can also send me an email at nathangeorgeis@gmail.com and I'll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.

   The day has finally come!! I am hitting the road here in a few short hours after spending the last 4 weeks getting my car road worthy. I can't even start to describe the frustration and anger I have gone through with this car that has had one thing go wrong after the other. On the bright side all this didn't happen on the the side of the road halfway through Texas and I was able to fix everything. With that being said I would like to send a special thank you out to my amazing wife Amanda who has had to put up with me trying to fix this car as well as my uncle Simon who somehow was able to walk me through a lot of the repairs over the phone. Another thank you goes out to the Auto Skills shop on Fort Meade who provided insight as well as a warm place to work with all the tools you can imagine.
   I am not sure I fully explained on the details so here they are. I will be driving my 1965 Chevrolet Impala (photo below) that I just purchased from Baltimore to Chicago. Once I reach Chicago my friend Daniel will join me as we do our best to follow Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Once we reach Los Angeles the plan is to make our way north to Spokane. That is the route we plan to take stopping to see the sights as well as friends and family along the way.
   So on to the details of my first leg. I plan to depart here, Baltimore, and make my way to Chicago where my friend Daniel has been so patiently waiting for me for the past few days while I worked on my stubborn car. In today's drive I will traverse Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, then on to Illinois. I plan on making this leg a straight shot getting me into Chicago sometime in the early afternoon. Daniel and I have planned to spend a few hours in Chicago taking in the sights and resting up for our trek across Route 66.
   So that is the plan for today. I will do my best to create daily posts telling of our adventures and will try and attach a photo as well. Well I am off to pack, so until tomorrow my friends.

MONEY RAISED:

$166

A special thanks to my mom and dad as well as Mr. and Mrs. McCulley for their donations.

For you motor heads out there, here is the work I ended up having to do:

Replace:

Brake Shoes (All 4 wheels)

Brake Calipers (All 4 wheels)

Rear Axle Bearing

Distributor

Spark Plug Wires

Spark Plugs

Timing Chain

Carburetor

Fuel Filter

Thermostat

Work Done:

Change the Oil/Oil Filter

Change the Transmission Fluid

Flush the Cooling System

Mind you before owning this car the extent of my car repair knowledge was oil, brakes, and belts. I know a little more then that now...